Racing: Spills and thrills for Te Rapa racegoers

Cambridge jockey Shelley Houston quickly grabbed a second cigarette as she observed, from the Te Rapa grandstand, the mayhem that was Saturday's $33,500 Dunstan Feeds Waikato Hurdles.

Houston was considerably more pale than 10 minutes' earlier.

Jumps jockeys have empathy for other jumps jockeys, the only thing that didn't change was the well-known smile.

Houston knew that an hour later she was going out on the favourite, Climbing High, in the $33,500 Braxton Waikato Steeplechase.

But then Climbing High is a safe jumper.

Then again, what is a safe jumper?

Houston was about to discover there is no such animal.

Talented and vastly experienced jumps jockey Tom Hazlett thought he was on one, Yourtheman, as he went out to try and repeat his 2008 Waikato Hurdles victory.

After just one fence Hazlett said he thought he was about to depart this world as he and Yourtheman were driven through the running rail and steel uprights by the favourite, Mr Charlton, who died after a heart attack three strides off the obstacle.

"That's the scariest thing I've faced in 22 years of riding," said Hazlett as he walked back through the birdcage.

"I don't ever want to go through that again.

"I'm probably lucky to be alive."

The incident happened in the back straight, a long way from where Houston viewed the race, but she instinctively felt the pain.

"It's bad enough when you're heading somewhere you shouldn't be, but it's a lot worse when it's not your fault.

"It's one thing to be going over a rail - it's another to be going through it."

On a day of spectacular crashes, Yourtheman was the worst suffering with a badly cut head.

It's fair to say there hasn't been a more incident-packed jumps race in years - perhaps not in decades in a race packed with experienced jumpers.

Three or four fences after Mr Charlton and Yourtheman crashed, Vivaldi's Gone and last year's Great Northern Hurdles winner Kidunot crashed heavily, badly interfering with Cape Kinaveral.

Watching the race not far from Shelley Houston was topline Melbourne jumps jockey Craig Durden, who had made the trip to ride Black Eagle in the Waikato Steeplechase.

Durden has been at the forefront of trying to prevent the banning of Victorian jumping races in the face of massive opposition.

He was hoping the race had not been telecast live in Victoria.

"Who knows what they'll be saying if they've seen that?"

Out of trouble in front was eventual winner Central Districts visitor Spirit Of Alaton, successful in the race last year.

Winning rider Isaac Lupton said he wasn't sure what had happened behind him, but he knew something had.

"I went past that fence down the back the second time and I knew Yourtheman was out of the race.

"Earlier, I'd heard a smash against the rail and I knew something bad had happened to one or two more."

Spirit Of Alaton is a free-going front runner who relishes not being eyeballed in front.

"If the others had stood up I think my bloke would have been flat winning," said Lupton frankly.

"When he won last year he was travelling sweetly all the way. This time I was slapping him up on the home turn."

Trainer Rachael Frost said she would not contemplate taking Spirit Of Alaton back to Melbourne to campaign this winter.

"Last year, when we went it was just when they called jumping off for a month or so when they had all that massive opposition to it.

"Then, when they resumed, they increased the distances to try and slow the horses down and they took away the last fence.

"None of those conditions suit this horse. We'll be staying home."

It was left to High Season to take second after escaping any of the drama throughout.

Wolf Pack and Four Good Reasons took third and fourth as the only other "proper" finishers.